Quality and reliability in new product development

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute a model that would facilitate the infusing of quality and reliability in new products by blending Six Sigma concept and new product development (NPD) process. Design/methodology/approach – A model called QUARNEWSS (stands for QUA – quality, R – reliability, NEW – new product and SS – Six Sigma) was designed. QUARNEWSS blends four stages of NPD process with Six Sigma's DMAIC improvement methodology and belt-based training infrastructure. After designing, QUARNEWSS was adopted to infuse quality and reliability in a new product being developed at a compressed air treatment products manufacturing company. Findings – The implementation experience indicated that QUARNEWSS could act as a vehicle for systematically infusing quality and reliability in new products. Originality/value – The contribution of QUARNEWSS model through this paper is valuable on considering the fact that modern customers demand new products with high degree of quality and reliability.